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Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 20 October 2022; Hits: 92

Queensland's housing summit should consider redesigning suburbs with more medium density housing that people actually want to live in, an expert says.

More than 100 representatives from three levels of government, and from social services, charities, property, construction and industry bodies will take part in the Brisbane talks on Thursday.

Short-term rentals, migration, planning rules, land-use and social housing are set to be examined at the one-day summit.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has promised it won't be a talk-fest, but will result in "key actions" to fix the crisis.

There's a chronic residential property shortage with near flat vacancy rates, while there are than 25,000 households on the public housing waiting list.

Griffith University planning expert Dr Tony Matthews says the summit should think about ways to use existing space better.

Interstate migration isn't easing, he says, and it's increasingly difficult and expensive to release new land without encroaching on productive farmland or protected areas.

However, Greater Brisbane has one of the lowest population densities of any state capital, despite being Australia's third most-populous city.

The average new residential lot in southeast Queensland was the size of a basketball court in 2021, according to the state government.

Dr Matthews says local governments, developers and builders should be delivering housing that's closer to urban hubs or transport, and more aesthetically attractive to potential owner-occupiers.

"The way that they're doing it right now is taking up all the green space with houses that are bumping up against each other, no trees, no public parks, none of that stuff," Dr Matthews told AAP.

"If you contrast that with many European cities, they'll have much higher density than Australian cities, they'll also have far fewer high rises, and they'll have more street level activity and fewer cars."

However, Dr Matthews warned that previous attempts at increasing density had resulted in generic high rise apartments or townhouses that investors bought, but no one wanted to live in.

"That's something that we need to look at - how can we redesign the suburbs to achieve density with people actually wanting to buy the homes and live there long term," he said.

Dr Matthews said denser, aesthetically pleasing housing that increases social capital is also important for Queenslanders who dream of eventually owning a house on a quarter-acre block.

He said it would be an important mid-point between renting and owning a house in the suburbs.

"People need to be able to go from renting to purchasing eventually, ideally, otherwise they'll never create intergenerational wealth," Dr Matthews said.

"That's the base of the property market in Australia that has, it has been protected furiously, studiously, so everybody should be entitled to have some crack at that eventually."

Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 19 October 2022; Hits: 91

The body of a missing man has been found in floodwaters as rain continues to exacerbate the disaster in NSW.

The 63-year-old man was reported missing from a property at Hillston in central west NSW on Tuesday last week.

The body was found Wednesday morning at Wallanthery, about 35 kilometres northeast from where the man went missing.

The body is yet to be identified but police believe it is the missing man.

It comes ahead of widespread storms and more rain forecast.

A low pressure system moving into eastern Australia on Wednesday renewed flood threats, the Bureau of Meteorology's Dean Narramore said.

"We have major flood warnings for many rivers across NSW and Victoria," Mr Narramore said.

"It's these areas that we are concerned (about) later in the week and into the weekend as additional rainfall is likely to lead to renewed river rises."

There will be no reprieve from rain and storms before the weekend.

"On Friday it's almost a rinse and repeat, where we see another round of widespread rain and thunderstorms," he said.

Nine emergency aircraft are on standby, along with SES flood rescue vehicles.

The state government has requested 880 ADF personnel to help high-risk communities.

Troops are assisting with sandbagging and doorknocking, based at Deniliquin near the Victorian border.

"Almost every river system west of the Dividing Range is in flood to some extent," Flood Recovery Minister Steph Cooke said on Wednesday.

"It doesn't take much rain to cause those rivers to rise and rise very quickly. Our SES volunteers have been at this effort for a very long time ... in some cases, well over 12 months.

"They are weary, understandably, and so we're very grateful to the federal government and the ADF for their support during this time."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government is working closely with state leaders and local councils.

"We are uniting to work towards looking after communities that have been impacted by these floods," he told reporters in Tasmania on Wednesday.

"At the worst of times, we always see the best of the Australian character," he said.

Major flooding is expected on the Murray River at Moama and Echuca in Victoria, but the water level is not expected to peak until Friday.

Already hundreds of people in and near Moama have been told to evacuate, with flood heights predicted to eclipse the area's second-worst on record in 1993.

The Murrumbidgee River is also rising at Narrandera, with major flooding expected at Hay in the coming days.

Moderate flooding continues at Forbes in the central west, with the Lachlan River likely to peak at Condobolin on Friday.

Flooding continues at Warren, where the Macquarie River has been at major levels for weeks.

Major warnings are also in place for Bourke, Tilpa and Mungindi, as several flood peaks flow into the Barwon and Darling Rivers.

The SES is ferrying emergency supplies to communities cut off by floodwaters and is likely to keep doing so for weeks.

Some 170 rescues had been carried out in recent days, solely from people driving into floodwaters.

SES Commissioner Carlene York urged people to heed the advice and evacuate when advised.

"I remind people that the (flood) waters are contaminated, so it is not healthy at all to go into the waters," Ms York said.

"If we are giving you a warning to evacuate, please do so whilst it's safe to do so and don't wait until you think that it's now a risk."

Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 19 October 2022; Hits: 100

Brittany Higgins does not know what happened on the night she alleges she was raped but possibly convinced herself it occurred, a jury has heard.

Closing arguments in the trial of the man accused of raping her scrutinised Ms Higgins' credibility before the jury was sent to deliberate on the previous three weeks of evidence.

Bruce Lehrmann is being tried in the ACT Supreme Court, after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent.

Ms Higgins alleges Lehrmann raped her inside a ministerial office in Parliament House after a night out drinking with colleagues, but he denies the pair ever had sex.

Defence lawyer Steven Whybrow said if Ms Higgins had convinced herself that she had been raped her emotions in the witness box may have been genuine.

"We have these things called con artists because demeanour is a difficult thing for people to pick up sometimes," he said in his closing argument on Wednesday.

"She (Ms Higgins) has reconstructed events to the point that she now genuinely believes they are true. That doesn't mean they are true," he said.

He told the jury there were few statements Ms Higgins presented as facts that had not been demonstrated to be suspect in the trial.

He said there was no DNA evidence or medical complaints to support Ms Higgins' version of events, but instead "contemporaneous lies" about visiting a doctor.

Mr Whybrow used an example of a photograph of a bruise Ms Higgins said she took after the alleged assault.

He said there was no evidence that bruise had anything to do with that night.

"She's been caught out. Other people have come along and checked ... and there's no evidence of this," he said.

Before excusing them for deliberations, Chief Justice Lucy McCallum told the jury they must act impartially, without emotion or prejudice and give a true verdict according to the evidence presented in the courtroom.

"You are not answerable to popular opinion ... whichever way you may think it sways," she said.

"Your verdict, whether it be guilty or not guilty, must be unanimous."

She reminded jurors of the importance of the presumption of Lehrmann's innocence and that it was up to the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Lehrmann exercised his right to silence and did not enter the witness box during the trial. Instead the jury was played his police interview.

Chief Justice McCallum said his decision not to give evidence in court could not be used as an admission of guilt and did not strengthen the prosecution's case.

Earlier Mr Whybrow told the jury Ms Higgins had 325,000 reasons to push ahead with her rape accusation.

This was in reference to the $325,000 book deal Ms Higgins was offered after giving two media interviews about her rape allegation in 2021.

Prosecutor Shane Drumgold on Tuesday said Ms Higgins had been a credible and honest witness whose version of events that night had not wavered.

Meanwhile, he said Lehrmann had given inconsistent accounts about his reasons for being at parliament on the night of the alleged assault to the security guards, to his boss and to the police.

Mr Drumgold also said after the alleged rape Ms Higgins was caught in the middle of "strong political forces".

"We say she was right to be scared, she was right to be cautious and she was right to move slowly and carefully," he said.

But Mr Whybrow told the jury on Wednesday that, other than Ms Higgins, no other witnesses had given evidence about "political forces" at play.

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Details: Written by Grant Broadcasters; Category: Received; Published: 19 October 2022; Hits: 94

The trial for the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins is nearly complete with a jury set to begin its deliberations.

Bruce Lehrmann is facing a criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court, charged with sexual intercourse without consent.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Ms Higgins alleges Lehrmann raped her inside a ministerial office in Parliament House after a night out drinking with colleagues, but he denies the pair ever had sex.

Chief Justice Lucy McCallum told the jury they must act impartially, without emotion or prejudice and give a true verdict according to the evidence presented in the courtroom.

"You are not answerable to popular opinion ... whichever way you may think it sways," she said on Wednesday.

"Your verdict, whether it be guilty or not guilty, must be unanimous."

She reminded jurors of the importance of the presumption of Lehrmann's innocence and that it was up to the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Lehrmann exercised his right to silence and did not enter the witness box during the trial. Instead the jury was played his police interview.

Chief Justice McCallum said his decision not to give evidence in court could not be used as an admission of guilt and did not strengthen the prosecution's case.

Earlier, Lehrmann's defence lawyer Steven Whybrow completed his closing argument, telling the jury Ms Higgins had 325,000 reasons to push ahead with her rape accusation.

He was referencing a $325,000 book deal Ms Higgins was offered after giving two media interviews about her rape allegation in 2021.

Mr Whybrow said the $325,000 question in the case was whether the jury could accept beyond a reasonable doubt that Lehrmann sexually assaulted Ms Higgins in a ministerial office.

He told the jury there were very few statements Ms Higgins presented as facts that have not been demonstrated to be suspect in the trial.

He said there was no DNA evidence or medical complaints to support Ms Higgins' version of events, but instead "contemporaneous lies" about visiting a doctor.

Mr Whybrow said if Ms Higgins had convinced herself that she had been raped her emotional demeanour in the witness box may be genuine.

"She has reconstructed events to the point that she now genuinely believes they are true. That doesn't mean they are true," he said on Wednesday.